On second thought, that ain't workin'
Posted on 02/08/2009 4:11:34 PM PST by Nachum
US President Barack Obama faced a host of personnel problems this week, as two top appointees bowed out because of unpaid income taxes and another pick distressed some in the Jewish community.
Slideshow: Pictures of the week Samantha Power, a Harvard University genocide expert and former Obama campaign adviser, has been appointed to the the National Security Council's multilateral institutions office. She has been criticized in the past for making statements critical of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians.
In one clip making the rounds courtesy of YouTube, Power accuses Israel of "major human rights abuses," though she distinguishes those actions from genocide. The interview was conducted in 2002, when media attention was focused on the IDF's incursion into Jenin during the second intifada's Operation Defensive Shield.
Power argued that if the United States were serious about ending such abuses, "external intervention" was needed, even though "putting something on the line might alienate a traditional domestic constituency of political and financial import," a reference to the American Jewish community.
RELATED Jews check Armenian genocide stance US envoy Mitchell to return to ME this month "Imposition of a solution on unwilling parties is dreadful. I mean it's a terrible thing to do, it's fundamentally undemocratic," she said, but "it's essential that some set of principles become the benchmark, rather than a deference to people who are fundamentally politically destined to destroy the lives of their own people."
She also talked about imposing a "mammoth protection force" and "meaningful military presence."
When asked about that force during the US presidential election campaign, however, Power distanced herself from the remarks. She told Shmuel Rosner, whose blog appears on The Jerusalem Post's Web site, "Even I don't understand it" and, "This makes no sense to me," positing that she made the comments in the context of discussing the deployment of international peacekeepers.
Power concluded by stressing that whatever she might have said five years ago, she "absolutely does not believe in 'imposing a settlement.' Israelis and Arabs 'will negotiate their own peace.'"
Still, hawkish groups like the Zionist Organization of America seized on her comments as a sign of an anti-Israel perspective and criticized her appointment.
"We're really disappointed that he's appointed someone who's not only not sympathetic to Israel, but is hostile to Israel," ZOA National President Mort Klein said.
He also criticized Obama for making another pick, like the nominees who hadn't paid taxes, that hurts his "integrity," since during the presidential campaign Obama had cut off Power as an adviser after she called rival candidate Hillary Clinton a "monster" and went off-message on Iraq policy.
"Given her apparent anti-Israel bias, we are deeply concerned about her new role as head of multinational institutions, where she will have responsibilities for international organizations that are already unfriendly to Israel, such as the UN and UNRWA," said the leader of a more centrist pro-Israel organization, who spoke on condition of anonymity so his relationship with the new administration wouldn't be jeopardized. "Israel needs a friend, not another critic, when it comes to dealing with the 'blame Israel first' crowd at the UN," he said.
He did point out that Power didn't have the Israel portfolio at the National Security Council, so her role on those issues would be somewhat curtailed, making the result of her selection still unclear: "The proof will be in the pudding - and that pudding is still being mixed," he said.
Israeli officials are also somewhat comforted by the fact that Power has not been placed in direct contact with Middle East issues and are willing to take a wait and see approach. While she would not be the Israeli government's first choice, officials are waiting to see how much authority she will have and what she does once she is in office.
Power's appointment comes amid confusion on other administration posts connected to the Middle East, one of them over what role Dennis Ross will play. A memo prematurely circulated by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which he once ran, described his position as a "ambassador-at-large and senior adviser" to Secretary of State Clinton. But that announcement - as opposed to several others connected to the region, including the appointment of George Mitchell to the role of Middle East peace envoy held by Ross under the Clinton administration - has not yet come.
Mitchell's appointment, among others, has raised questions about turf battles and the chain of command, which some blame for the postponement in Ross's case. Now it seems that his role might be limited to Iran-related issues, according to Time magazine. The publication also wrote that part of the delay stemmed from the administration's own slow-moving Iran policy review.
"We want to do a very swift review. But the review is going to be comprehensive. So, what's important is getting the review right and not rushing it," US State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said on Wednesday. "But it is something that the secretary and the president are very committed to in trying to get, you know, a policy in place with regard to Iran as early as possible."
The State Department is also reviewing whether to send an ambassador to Syria for the first time since the assassination of anti-Syrian Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri in 2005, though officials said no decision had yet been made.
"It wouldn't be such a surprise if there's a change toward Syria," said one Israeli official, noting that Obama has spoken of engaging Damascus and taking a stance much different than that of his predecessor. Israel itself engaged in indirect talks with Syrian officials before the war in Gaza last month, and an Israeli source indicated the return of a US ambassador wouldn't be problematic "as long as it's clear that the onus is on the Syrians to show they're serious about negotiations."
Are these the same Jews that voted for him?
I really don’t give a shite. They get exactly what they voted for.
Elections do have consequences.
On second thought, that ain't workin'
I doubt many members of a Zionist group voted for him, but they can thank their "progressive" fellows who sure did.
Biblically, it's right after the scripture reference to whitey and the U.S. KKK of A.
ROFL--sort of like Carter, Arafat, alGore getting the Nobel.
Power was born and raised in Ireland before emigrating to the United States in 1979.
From 1993 to 1996, she worked as a journalist, covering the Yugoslav wars for U.S. News & World Report, The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The New Republic.
A scholar of foreign policy especially as it relates to human rights, genocide, and AIDS, she is currently the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Power spent 2005-06 working in the office of U.S. Senator Barack Obama as a foreign policy fellow, where she was credited with sparking and directing Obama's interest in the Darfur conflict
She served as a senior foreign policy adviser to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign until she was forced to resign
After the 2008 presidential election, Power returned to Obama's team, becoming a member of the transition team, working for the Department of State.
In January 2009 President Obama appointed Power to the National Security Council, where she will serve as director for multilateral affairs.
Samantha Power is back
Posted by smoothstone
The messiah-elect fraud, Barack Hussein Obama, has just re-hired Samantha Power. This act of rehiring Power should give us more insight into the foreign-policy objectives of Barack Hussein Obama, who had Samantha Power as an adviser from 2005 until she referred to Hillary Clinton as a “monster” in March of this year.
Samatha Power doesn’t just loathe Hilary Clinton, she loathes Israeli Jews as well.
The messiah-elect got rid of Power so that he wouldn’t lose the Jewish vote.
Now that he got the Jewish vote, she’s back in.
http://smoothstoneblog.com/2008/11/samantha-power-is-back.htm
They won't get any help from anyone now, but they can make the west wish that they had grown a pair first.
Tehran, Damascus, the port, oilfields and refinery should disappear in a flash of lithium fusion, what bunker busters they have should fall on Iran's nuke facility.
Israel should explain in three words: "Pick A Side."
There is an eye-opening video at the above link, too.
They actually have their butts on the line, and they can smell an anti-semite when they find him in their midst.
Not at all surprising to find Obama appointing some of these pukes here and there, albeit "without the Israel portfolio" ~ they'll still be present in the bowels of the State Department and able to do their evil worst.
The Next President is going to have to toss these people and all their acolytes who acrete to State Department into the political garbage cans, so don't forget to remind everyone of what needs done then, OK?!
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Holy Moly, where did you get that idea?
I believe that the addition of Powers (and Maloney) to Hussein's ME team is the most telling move to date.
77% of American Jews voted for an annihilationist pro-Hamas President, and their votes elected him.
They made their bed - now lie in it, and STFU.
Well, that's what they told me before the election and Lord knows I can't criticize his profession of faith. Who am I to say he's not a Christian just because he supports mudering babies? I cannot match his intellect when it comes to nuancing the 6th commandment. BTW, it's a good think he keeps his office hot, it'll be good practice.
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